Paper jogger and compressor



Feb. 6, 1968 A. R. STOBB 3,367,652

PAPER J OGGER AND COMPRESSOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 2, 1965 I/vl EA/mk: ANTON R. STOBB By A TTORNEV Feb. 6, 1968 A. R. STOBB PAPER JOGGER AND COMPRESSOR 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Aug. 2. 1965 FIQZ INVf/VTOR ANTON R. STOBB B); I I

United States Patent 3,367,652 PAPER JOGGER AND COMPRESSOR Anton R. Stobb, RD. 1, Pittstown, NJ. 08867 Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,353

4 Claims. (Cl. 271-89) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sheet jogger and compressor having three upright walls forming two pockets for receiving sheets. The center one of the walls is movable toward the other two walls, and away from the other two walls, so that it forms the two pockets with the other two walls. Vibrating means is connected to the walls, and to floors which are extending between the walls, and the means vibrates the sheets in the pockets between the walls for alignment of the sheets.

This invention relates to a sheet jogger and compressor.

After sheets of paper are printed, folded, or otherwise handled, it is desirable that they be aligned in a neat bundle or stack and then bound or otherwise handled for control of the bundle. Various means and methods are employed for doing this, including the manual means of simply taking a collection of paper sheets or signatures, jostling them or bouncing them on a table to line them up, and finally pressing them and tying them together.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a sheet jogger and compressor which is an improvement over the apparatus heretofore known. In accomplishing this particular object, the machine of this inventon is inexpensive, easily manufactured and maintained, easy and simple to operate, and is fast and effective in its function of both jogging or aligning sheets and compressing them into a tight and compact stack.

Another object of this invention is to provide an efficient machine for both jogging and compressing, and with the machine being arranged to combine the jogging and compressing functions so that they may be performed by one machine and only one operator.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a preferred embodiment of this invention, and with the view being substantially a side elevational view and with it showing parts thereof broken away and with paper signatures in dot-dash lines.

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of FIG. 1 with parts thereof broken away and showing the section line 1--1 thereon constituting the location of the section for FIG. 1.

The embodiment shown in the drawings includes the upright support members which have flat springs 11 attached to the'upper ends by means of screws 12. The springs 11 in turn attach to a floor 13 by means of screws 14, and there may of course be four such springs 11 attached to each corner of the substantially rectangular floor 13. Also, FIG. 2 shows that the floor 13 is tilted, and the tilt is actually shown to be 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal.

The supports 10maintain the machine on the floor or pedestal designated 16, and a cover piece 17 and a cover piece 18 may enclose the lower portion of the machine as indicated. Also, a cross member 19 extends between the supports 10 to make this supporting frame or base rigid and firm.

Two parallel and spaced-apart vertical walls 21 and 22 are atfixed to the floor 13 and project thereabove as shown. It will of course then be understood that the walls 21 and 22 are connected to the floor with the screws 14 as shown. Also, the floor 13 is horizontal in its extent along direct lines between the walls 21 and 22 while the 3,367,652 Patented Feb. 6, 1968 floor 13 is tilted in the other direction, namely that parallel to the walls 21 and 22, as shown in FIG. 2.

A third wall 23 is disposed upright and intermediate the walls 21 and 22. Thus pockets designated 24 and 26 are formed between the walls 21 and 23 and the walls 23 and 22 respectively. Further, it will be seen that sheets, such as paper signatures 27 can be disposed within the pocket 24 for the jogging and compressing function de scribed hereinafter. Also, note that the lower edges of the sheets 27 include a fold designated 28, and it is preferred that the fold be placed on edge against the floor 13 as shown.

Thus the sheets may be folded paper signatures which have come from a folder which in turn received the sheets from a printing press. It is then desired that the folded signatures be jogged or vibrated into an aligned stack and then compressed for bundling as well as for improving the fold 28.

To this end, the central or third wall 23 is movable toward and away from the end walls 21 and 22. Thus the wall 23 is shown to be moved to the left in FIG. 1 and is compressing the stack or sheets 27 in the pocket 24. At this time, the pocket 26 has been made larger than the pocket 24 and thus a new bundle or stack of signatures can be readily inserted into the pocket 26. Then when the wall 23 moves to the right in FIG. 1, the stack in the pocket 24 can be removed at the same time that the newly inserted stack in the pocket 26 is being compressed.

A power means controls the movement of the wall 23, and such means is shown to be an air cylinder generally designated 29. The cylinder 29 has its ram 31 extending to both ends of the cylinder 29 and the two ends connect to cross pieces 32 and 33 which in turn connect to side pieces 34 and 36, as shown in FIG. 2. The pieces 34 and 36 have upstanding arms 37 and 38 respectively, and they in turn support a cross pin 39 which extends through web portions 41 and 42 in the wall 23.

Thus the usual axial movement of the ram 31 of the power means 29 will displace the side members 34 and 36 and the pin 39 connected thereto, and thus the wall 23 is displaced as described. The floor 13 has an open ing 43 for the extension of the uprights 37 and 38 as shown.

Bolts 44 extend through the floor 13 and connect to the power means 29 by supporting two cross pieces 46 extending below bosses 47 on the power cylinder 29; Nuts 48 thread onto the bolts 44 to retain the power means 29 afiixed with respect to the floor 13, and the attachment can of course be in any conventional or well known manner.

A fourth wall 49 extends between the walls 21 and 22, and is actually attached to the walls in any suitable manner. The wall 49 is shown in FIG. 2 to be oblique with respect to the vertical direction, and this wall thus provides a support for one edge of the sheets in the stack 27.

Of course the floor 13 supports the other edge of the sheets so that the stack is supported on an incline against the wall 49 and the floor 13.

The means for moving the wall 23 may of course be a power means, such as the power means 29. Then the power means 29 may be controlled by a fluid valve 51 with a control or foot lever 52. Two fluid lines 53 lead from the valve 51 and respectively connect to the fluid line 54 and the power cylinder 29 for the double action described. A fluid motor 56 is also shown connected to the valve 51 through the fluid lines 57 so that fluid under pressure either air or hydraulic, can be applied to the power means 29 through the valve 51 which permits the operator to control the direction of movement of the double ram 31, as would be obvious to one skilled in the art.

To jog or vibrate the sheets which are disposed in the open pocket 24 or 26, a vibrator generally designated 58 is provided. The lower portion of the vibrator is shown mounted on studs 59 supported on the frame or support cross member 19. This vibrator lower portion 61 is shown spaced from the upper portion 62, and these portions are of the usual electro-magnetic type such that upon energizing them they will of course make and break physical contact with each other to vibrate the upper portion of the machine including the power means 29, the floor 13 and the four walls described. Thus the mounting springs 11 permit the vibration of these parts which are therefore all suspended from and supported by the mounting springs 11. The vibrator 58 thus has mounting springs 63 and 64, and these springs may be of any conventional design in order to permit the vibrator to move in a vertical direction and thus impart an upward force on the springsuspended parts described, and with the upward force being vertical. The vibrator can be of any conventional design, and the one shown is only for convenience of display in showing one way of accomplishing the desired results.

With the vibrator operating in the vertical direction as explained, and with the floor 13 and wall 49 being tilted to form a right-angle therebetween and tilted pockets 24 and 26, both the floor 13 and the wall 49 move vertically against their respective sheet edges to jog the sheets and the respective edges into quick and accurate alignment. Thus while the pocket 24 is utilized for compressing the stack 27, a fresh bundle of sheets would be disposed in the pockets 26, and this bundle would then be jogged into alignment before the wall 23 is moved to the right in FIG. 1 for compressing the fresh bundle in the pocket 26 and release of the stack 27 in the pocket 24. Of course the stack in the pocket 26 would then be removed after it is compressed and after a fresh bundle had been placed in the pocket 24 and had been jogged into alignment.

While a specific embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it should be obvious that certain changes can be made in the embodiment and the invention should therefore be determined only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet jogger and compressor machine comprising two uprightly disposed and spaced-apart walls for receiving sheets therebetween, a third uprightly disposed wall disposed intermediate said two spaced-apart walls and being alternately movable toward and away from said two spaced-apart walls and forming a pocket with each of said two spaced-apart walls, means connected to said third wall for alternately moving said third wall toward and away from said two spaced-apart walls, an inclined floor below said walls, a back wall extending from the lower end of said inclined floor and transversely upwardly therefrom and adjacent each of said walls and connected to said two walls, and jogging means operatively connected to all said walls for jogging same for alignment of said sheets therebetween.

- 2. A sheet jogger and compressor machine comprising two spaced-apart and vertical walls for receiving sheets therebetween for standing said sheets in an upright position, a third wall vertically disposed intermediate said two spaced-apart walls and being alternately movable toward and away from said two spaced-apart walls and forming a pocket with each of said two spaced-apart walls, all three said walls being at least the height of said sheets and extending from the plane of the lower edge to the plane of the upper edge of said sheets for compressing said sheets throughout their height, a floor extending between said two spaced-apart walls and being level in its extent from wall to wall but being tilted with respect to the horizontal in the direction parallel to said two spaced-apart walls, a fourth wall extending between said two spaced-apart walls and being disposed adjacent the lower end of said tilted floor and transverse thereto for supporting said sheets on their edges with said floor and said fourth wall, means connected to said third wall for alternately moving said third wall toward and away from said two spaced-apart walls for alternately opening and closing said pockets for respectively inserting and compressing said sheets, and vertically operative jogging means operatively connected to said floor and all said walls for vertically jogging said floor and all said walls for alignment of said sheets prior to compressing.

3. A sheet jogger and compressor machine comprising a floor for supporting sheets on edge, three parallel and spaced-apart walls for receiving said sheets therebetween in the two pockets defined by said three walls, said walls being of at least approximately the same height and width and with all said walls fully extending throughout the size of said sheets from the lower edge to the upper edge of said sheets for compressing said edges and with said wall being alternately movable toward and away from each other for opening and closing said pockets, power means connected to said walls for alternately moving them toward and away from each other, and jogging means operatively connected to said floor and all said walls for jogging them for alignment of said sheets prior to compressing.

4. A sheet jogger and compressor machine comprising two vertically disposed spaced-apart walls for receiving sheets therebetween, a third wall vertically disposed intermediate said two spaced-apart walls and being alternately movable toward and away from said two spaced-apart walls and fonming a pocket with each of said two spacedapart walls, a tilted floor and an inclined fourth wall both extending between said two spaced-apart walls in positions to angularly support said sheets on edge and in said pockets, means connected to said third wall for alternately moving said third wall toward and away from said two spaced-apart walls, said third wall extending from said fioor to a height equal to that of said two walls for alternately directly compressing the full height of said sheets between all said walls, and vertically operative jogging means operatively connected to all said walls for vertically jogging same for alignment of said sheets therebetween prior to compressing said sheets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,198,519 8/1965 Bartsh 271-s9 3,223,420 12/1965 Wilson etal. 271-89 3,266,798 8/1966 Bleiman 271-64 ALLEN N. KNOWLES, Primary Examiner.

M. BENSON WO 111-, ner, 

